Sometimes When We touch
by If Wishes Were Blue Skies
Summary: Helga's kicked out of her house and stays at the tree house to hide out. Arnold comes to look for her when she doesn't show up for a baseball game...REVISED AND BETTER! Now in paragraph form and easier to read!! so please r/r!!


**A/N:** I know I'm supposed to be writing the jungle movie, but lets just say I'm takin a little break. Anyway, I downloaded this song off of kazaa yesterday and thought, "Oh my god! This the PERFECT song for a songfic!" so here I am! Well I hope you enjoy it!J And um…it's a long while into the story before the first verse of the song comes into play, but it was the beginning of the story! I couldn't start it off from where the perfect beginning for the song would be! Hey! It's called being a good _writer…_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own hey Arnold. Now please leave me lone. And I do not own the song, "Sometimes When We Touch." Tis the property of Dan Hill. 

"Sometimes When We Touch" 

**** 

_by: I-luv-mark  _

(though I don't luv mark anymore :P)

9-year-old Helga Pataki walked down the wooden boardwalk. With her head looking down and not in front of her, she looked as though she had been kicked out of her own house. She had no coat for it was summer and unless you were to ask her, you would have no clue of what you guessed was right. She had been kicked out of her house by her aggressive father. 

Helga looked up and out to the water, which cast a bright light on her eyes from the reflection of the setting sun. What looked like the sparkle of water fell from her eyes, but she wiped them away as if someone she knew was standing right in front of her. But there was no one around. The place was deserted. But this was no coincidence. Helga had known that no one – at least no one she wanted to – was going to be here. They were all at Gerald Field, playing their most important game of the season. It was yet again, against the fifth graders and she was one of their more important players. 

_"I just hope that they'll just go on without me. As long as no one comes looking for me, I'm just fine,"_ she told herself as she sat down on the dock and swung her feet above the water. 

"Where _is _she?" groaned an impatient Arnold. He looked at his watch for what must've been the hundredth time. She was already ten minutes late and they needed her for the game.

"Arnold! Is she coming yet?" called Gerald, who also had an impatient look on his face. "We can't forfeit this game or we'll never hear the end of it! We'd be able to send someone else in, but Eugene broke his leg! And he's our only extra, Arnold! What are we gonna do?" shouted Gerald. He was trying to catch his breath while Arnold tried to calm him down. 

"Geeze, Gerald! Take it easy! Why don't I just go over her house and see why she's not showing up? Tell everyone I'll be back in ten minutes," Arnold suggested. Gerald just nodded his head while Arnold took off toward Helga's home. 

As Arnold walked, he saw Helga's light blue house come into view. Suddenly he had a bad feeling and stopped walking. It scared him. He didn't know why he had this feeling, but it had never happened to him before. 

Ignoring it, he continued on to Helga stoop and knocked on the door. It was only a few seconds until Helga's mom opened the door. She looked at Arnold with a blank look on her face.

"Um…I was wondering where Helga might be. Or if she's here…" Arnold started, but the woman stopped him.

"I'm afraid Helga and her dad had a bit of a fight, so she left. I don't know where she is," she told him in a shaky, but flat tone. 

"Oh. Thanks then. Bye."

Arnold left without a second glance back at Helga's mom. 

Helga sighed deeply and stood up. She took one last look out at the water before turning around and leaving. She didn't exactly knew where she was going, but she just let her feet take her where ever. She didn't care, really. As long as it was away from her house and not by Gerald Field. The last thing she wanted to do now was play baseball. Or do anything for that matter. 

Helga walked for about ten minutes before coming to a stop. She tilted her head up to see that her feet had brought her to Mighty Pete. The sight of the tree brought both anger and happiness to her mind. What made her angry was the thought of her cruel dad when he had tried to tear down the tree for his own good. But he hadn't succeeded because of one heroic boy. Arnold. Helga swooned silently at the thought of Arnold. Yes, if it weren't for Arnold, she would probably be standing outside of a new beeper emporium. 

And if it weren't for Arnold, she wouldn't even be walking around Hillwood right now. She would be walking around some other neighborhood without any places to remind her of good things that happened. And if it weren't for Arnold, she probably would've put herself out of her misery a long time ago. 

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Helga climbed the rope ladder up to the tree house. Reaching the platform, she walked around on the balcony and sat down with her legs hanging over the edge. She held onto the banner as she watched the first star of the night twinkle into view. She gazed at it with a look of sadness and felt a single tear roll down her cheek. Not bothering to wipe it away, she just let it fall onto her knee. She couldn't stand it anymore. Helga sobbed as quietly as she could incase someone were to walk by. 

With her head in her hands and choking out sobs, she was a pitiful sight to see. But not because of her usual behavior, but because of her not having anyone tom comfort her. 

Arnold was getting worried. It was already nightfall and still couldn't find Helga anywhere. He had completely forgotten about the game (it had already been 20 minutes since he had gone to look for her so they had probably forfeited the game anyway) but all he could think about was Helga. She had been out by herself, so who knows what kind of serious trouble she could be in. 

He thought he had checked everywhere. He checked the park, the docks, the arcade, even Dinoland, but she was nowhere to be found. He almost gave up when he heard a very faint sort of…whimpering noise. Curious, Arnold followed the sound and it got louder with every step he took. Soon, Arnold saw the vacant opening where Mighty Pete stood. 

Not wanting to disturb whoever it was who was crying, Arnold just peeked around the building and was shocked at what he saw. Helga was sitting on the balcony with her head in her arms and was sobbing uncontrollably. He wanted to go up to her and help her in any way he could, but thought he'd just get screamed at for it. But something told him to go to her. So his feet walked him over to the base of the tree and he grabbed hold of the ladder. Incredulously, Helga hadn't noticed him, so he continued climbing up the ladder. 

He reached the floor of the tree house and cleared his throat to announce his presence. 

Helga gasped loudly and looked horrified to see Arnold standing there. Arnold took a deep breath and walked over to her and sat down. There was an awkward silence between the two before Arnold finally spoke up.

"Helga, I heard what happened between you and your dad," he said quietly. She looked over at him with a tear-stained face. 

"Heh. It was nothing really. At least nothing unusual. But don't think I need your sympathy, Arnoldo," she shot at him realizing she was on the verge of more embarrassing tears. 

"Helga. I know how you try to cover things up. So don't even go there. Just let it out. Cry. There's no one here but me," he said reassuringly. Helga turned away from him and said nothing. There was another silence.

There was a sudden rumble from the sky and they both looked up. The sky was now cloudy and there wasn't a star in the sky. Then followed the downpour of rain and Arnold and Helga rushed into the tree house for shelter. 

Helga took a seat on a mushy couch and Arnold sat down on the table across form the chair. 

"Why'd you come looking for me?" 

Arnold looked up, surprised. He hadn't expected anything from her. "Well, you weren't at the game and when your mom told me she didn't know where you were, I got worried. I mean, you could've been in trouble," he replied. She looked back down at the floor. 

Then curiosity came over Arnold. "So what happened? I mean, what started your fight. If you don't mind my asking."

"Well it was nothing different really. We were just at dinner and a little conversation turned into a disagreement and then a fight and he…well as long as I'm not there now, I'm fine." She had said the last part quickly as if making it so that Arnold wouldn't understand what she said. But Arnold understood it fine and a look of deep concern crossed his face. He got up and sat next to her on the couch. 

With a hand on her shoulder, he asked, "He what, Helga? What did he do to you? And if he did do something to you, you would tell somebody about it, right?"

Helga looked at him and stood up. "You just don't get it do you, Arnold? If I told anyone that my dad abuses me, I'd probably get taken away!" she shouted at him. She sat back down and stared back at the floor. 

"What happened, Helga? I promise I won't tell anyone," he said to her reassuringly. Helga sighed and didn't say anything. Instead, hands shaking, she pulled up her right sleeve up to her shoulder, reveling a dark and fairly large bruise. 

Arnold's eyes widened and she let her sleeve fall back to its original length. "He pushed me," she said, almost startling Arnold who was still trying to think of what to say. "Into the banister and I hit my arm off the corner of it," she explained quietly. 

"And this…" she said pointing to another bruise, though this one smaller, on her left knee. "Is what's left from when I fell on the stairs after hitting the banister," she added. 

She looked over at Arnold's shocked face. 

"Helga," he started, but didn't know how to finish. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her as more angry tears escaped her eyes and flowed down her face. She didn't cry, just let the tears fall.

Before Helga could tell him not to feel bad, she found herself in his arms. Arnold had her in a tight embrace. Before Helga could come out of her paralyzed state and get her brain to start working again, he let go of her.  

Arnold noticed the look on Helga's face. It was sort of a mixture of shock and happiness, he thought. He almost put it behind him when something hit him. 

"Helga, now that we're uh…alone, I think it's time we have a serious heart-to-heart. I think we put it off for too long…you know what I'm talking about, don't you Helga?" he said.

A very strong wave of nervousness hit Helga head-on and her stomach hurt badly. "Yeah I do. I guess you're right, Arnold," she replied with a shaking voice. 

Noticing this, Arnold took her hand for a kind of support for her. He knew it was going to be hard for her, so the least he could do was help her through it. 

Helga took a long deep breath and started. "Arnold, I…what happened that night was…well, I guess I just went crazy. Any other time I make a comment to cover something up like I did, you push it off and say 'whatever you say, Helga.' But you didn't this time…and that was new to me…and I just sort of freaked." She paused to take a breath and continued. 

"Well, I think you know the truth by now anyway, so-," she started, but Arnold interrupted.

"Yes, I do, Helga. I just want to hear it honestly from you," he told her. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, encouraging her to say it.

Helga had never been so scared in her life. "Arnold, I…l, lo…I love y, you," she finally stammered out. 

Arnold smiled and shook her hand as if she had won something. "Congratulations, Helga. You finally did it!" he said jokingly. She laughed he let go of her hand. 

"Now was that so hard?" he asked her. 

"Yes it was, for your information! I don't think I've been more scared in my life," she answered in a fierce, yet playful voice. 

The fun died down when Helga new that she had to ask Arnold something. She had to know, once and for all. 

"Arnold…do you…um…like me?" she asked him. Arnold looked up at her, surprised. He hadn't expected this from her.

He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but it also wouldn't be him to lie to her. And if he lied, he would have to tell her and she'd be in even worse shape than she already was. 

"Helga, we've been through a lot together and…well don't get me wrong, but I don't like you like you," he told her in a sad tone. 

{**A/N:** weee! Finally, the first verse! Sorry it took so long.}

~You ask me if I love you 

_And I choke on my reply_

_I'd rather hurt you honestly _

_Than mislead you with a lie~_

_~And who am I to judge you?_

_On what you say or do_

_I'm only just beginning to see_

_The real you~_

"You understand, right, Helga?" he asked in a worried voice. She nodded and said, "Yeah, sure, Arnold. I mean I don't expect you to…" She trailed off of her sentence as though she had lost interest in it. 

Helga was devastated. She really didn't expect Arnold to love her back, but the humiliation and pain were unbearable. The rejection from Arnold when she was to tell him was what she had always feared, and was one of the bigger reasons for why she wouldn't tell him before. She felt so embarrassed for asking him in the first place. He probably thought she was a weirdo. 

It was such an awkward silence after that, she couldn't take it anymore. Despite the cold rain pouring down, she got up and ran to sit outside on the balcony. Arnold looked at her sitting in the rain, not caring that she was getting soaked all through her clothes. He stood up and went to the doorway. 

"Helga, what are you doing? You're gonna catch pneumonia sitting there in the rain," he said. 

She turned around, stood up and looked at him with a scowl on her face. "Why don't you just leave me here, Arnold and do more important things. No one cares about the bully, Helga Pataki anyway," she shouted at him.

"Helga, come in here. And you are important to me, so I'm not going to leave you out here, now come on," he informed her. 

"Oh come off it, Arnold! You never cared about me! All you ever cared about was and are your stupid little crushes you get every two months! And for right now, it's Lila, isn't it, Arnold? It's little Miss Perfect that you're spending your life drooling and slaving over!" It was turning into a fight and they both new it. 

Something came over Arnold that he'd never felt before. And what he did next was something neither of them would've seen coming.

"Well just because I like her and not you doesn't mean you have to be jealous, Helga! I thought you were better than that! You can't go through life being angry at everyone just because you can't have what you want!" he shouted back.  

That did it. He had hit Helga Pataki's weak spot. 

"You're right Arnold. So now no one's ever going to have to go through me tormenting them anymore," she finally said. 

She walked slowly over to the wooden railing and looked down at the ground. "Sure is high up, isn't it, Arnold?" she asked out of the blue. 

Arnold raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking-," but Helga continued without an answer from him.

"It sure would be unfortunate for someone to fall off," she said in a flat tone. Arnold got the hint.

"No, Helga, don't," he said sounding concerned. But before he could stop her, she kicked open the boards and jumped.

_~Some times when we touch_

_The honesty's too much_

_And I have to close my eyes and hide~_

_~I wanna hold ya till I die_

_Till we both brake down and cry_

_I wanna hold ya till the fear in me subsides~_

"NO!" Arnold yelled and ran over to the edge just as Helga jumped. He grabbed her hand before she could go any further. He didn't know how long he could hold her; the with the rain, both of them were soaked, so Helga could easily slip right out of his grasp. 

"Hold up your other hand! I can't pull you up with just one of your hands!" he shouted at her over the crack of thunder.

"Why didn't you let me fall, Arnold? Just let me go now," she told him in the same tone she used before. 

"Just hold up your other hand, Helga! Please! You're going to fall any second if you don't hold up your hand! Please, Helga!" he cried with a very pleading voice. 

Helga couldn't let Arnold shout like he just had. The pleading in his voice was too much for her heart to hear. With all the strength she had, she lifted her hand as far as it would go. Arnold held out his other hand for her to grab onto and at last, they were connected enough for Arnold to pull her up. 

Once Helga was back over the edge, they fell into a heap on the floor. They crawled, panting into the dryness of the tree house. 

"Don't you _ever – _something like that _again!"_ Arnold panted. He was obviously still pretty shaken up. 

Helga just nodded and placed herself back on the couch. He sat down next to her.

"I guess I went too far, huh? But you're right. I do pretty much spend all my time following Lila around. And I never really paid much attention to you unless there's something seriously wrong with you," he told her.

"Are there any blankets in here?" she asked, ignoring his apology. "We're probably going to have to spend the night. It's already 10:00," she said.

_~Romance and all it's strategies_

_Leaves me battling with my pride_

_But for all the insecurity_

_Some tenderness survives~_

_~I'm just another writer_

_Still trapped within my truth_

_A hesitant prizefighter _

_Still trapped within my youth~_

The thought had never crossed Arnold's mind. Chances were that they'd have to spend the night.

"Uh…yeah. They're in the closet. Let me go get them," he answered. He went across the room and opened a door and brought out three blankets and two pillows.

"What do we need three blankets?" she asked quizzically. 

"Well since I'm sleeping on the floor, I want something better than the wood floor to sleep on," he replied. He threw a blanket and a pillow at Helga and he stretched out his blanket on the floor next to the couch. 

Arnold finished spreading out his blanket and saw Helga had laid her blanket out on the couch already and was just sitting there looking out the window. Arnold noticed her slightly shaking from still being wet.

He stood up with his blanket in his hand and sat down next to her. He put one end of the blanket around her shoulders and the other end around his. She looked at him with wide eyes and he looked back at her.

"You were shaking. Gotta keep warm somehow," he said.

"Uh…yeah," was her reply. 

Arnold looked over at Helga. She was now no longer a puzzle to him. He finally finished putting the pieces together after years of effort. Sometimes she still made him ticked though, but other times, like now, he just wanted to comfort her.

_~At times I'd like to break you_

_And drive you to your knees_

_At times I'd like to break through_

_And hold you endlessly~_

"Helga, you do know that you can tell me anything that's bothering you, right?" he asked her. 

She looked over at him. "I guess, but there's just some things that I can't talk to you about. Like…Lila, for instance," she told him. 

"And you don't really think that I don't care about you, do you, Helga?" he asked sincerely. Under the blanket, she felt Arnold's hand enclose around hers. "Because I do. And you probably think that I care about everyone…I do, but you're one of the people I care about most. And if you want to know why, it's because you're the one out of all of us, who's been through the most. Any insult from someone you care about could drive you to the end. Like what happened out there. You care about me and I hurt you…and I hurt you everyday, don't I?"

Helga nodded. "And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for anything I've ever done to hurt you. But I just want you to know that no one cares. I do, and so does Phoebe." 

Arnold had to tell her this after the stunt she tried to pull. 

"You don't have to be sorry Arnold. I'm used to it. At least my love life is better than yours. You've been used and I see true love pass you everyday," she informed him. 

"Oh, look, Arnold!" she said. She pointed outside and Arnold saw that the rain had stopped. 

Helga got up and ran over the doorway and outside. She looked up at all of the stars twinkling down on her. 

Arnold looked at her from the doorway. She never looked so happy. What she had told him moments ago kept going through his mind. He was trying to make sense out of it. When she had said 'use him' he thought of Summer automatically. But what did 'love pass him by everyday'? 

He looked at Helga once more. With all that happened, he now just noticed that he hair had been let down. She actually looked pretty when she let her hair down. Her hair was still wet so it was starting to become stringy, but she still looked fine just the same.

He wandered off into memories of him and Helga. The time she found his hat, when she had helped him through Lila's breakup, the school play, the egg project, when she helped him save the neighborhood…her kiss. His first kiss was with none other than Helga Pataki: his personal tormentor. 

But that wasn't the same Helga he was with right now. It seemed that if there was no one else around, she would let the walls down and actually be herself. But even before she told him how she really felt, she would become defensive if he asked too many questions or just got a little too close. But now-now was different. She had no reason to put her mask on, because there was nothing to cover up anymore. 

Then it hit him. He finally decoded what Helga had meant. And he was just now realizing that true love DID pass him by each day. All his life, it seemed, he always had a crush on a girl, but he was always let down. But the love he'd been looking for all that time was right under his nose. He saw her everyday and what made her different was that she wouldn't let him down. 

Helga. He always thought that Helga and him had some kind of connection between each other, but still didn't know what that was yet. But now he knew that without Lila in the picture, he could see. See that his long lost love was Helga. 

Arnold was shocked at this realization at first, but then seemed to calm a bit more. He walked out onto the balcony and stood next to her. He looked up and just now noticed how bright the stars really were.

"Sure is romantic, huh, Arnold?" she asked making him jump. Arnold smiled to himself. 

"Yeah," he said in a dazed sort of way. 

Not noticing Helga asked him, "Bet you wish Lila was here instead of me."

He looked at her and she looked at him. He placed his hand over top of Helga's, which was on top of the railing.

"Actually, Helga, I'm glad I'm here with you. In fact, I'd rather be here with you than with Lila," he told her affectionately. 

His fingers laced with Helga's and fell from the banister. Helga's body seemed to fall limp and she fell to her knees, as did Arnold with her. Apparently, she had gotten his message. 

"Arnold, you mean you…" she couldn't find her voice after that. She almost passed out when he nodded.

_~At times I think we're drifters_

_Still searchin for a friend_

_A brother or a sister_

_But then the passion flares again~_

Helga felt Arnold's body heat with how close he was to her. He had wound his arms around her waist and she put her hands on his shoulders. The space between their lips slowly closed and after what felt like forever, they kissed. Arnold pressed his mouth on hers and her eyes fluttered open and closed but finally shut them. 

Arnold felt a jump in his chest the second his lips touched Helga's. It was a completely new feeling, for he never had anyone love him like this and he didn't want it to go. The feeling was so wonderful that he just wanted to stay like that forever. But he knew he couldn't. 

He was almost upset when they pulled apart. The kiss had taken both their breaths away so they didn't say anything for a few seconds. 

"I love you, Helga," Arnold said finally finding his voice. 

"I noticed," they laughed. "I love you too, Arnold."

Helga yawned and stood up. "Well I'm going to bed, Arnold. I'm tired…it has to be at least midnight," she announced.

Arnold walked into the room along side of her and sat down on his blanket. He moved his blanket from the far side of the couch to right next to it and laid down under the thick blanket. He looked up and saw Helga already with her eyes closed and had her hand hanging off the side of the couch.

"Goodnight, Helga," he told her quietly. He let his head fall on the pillow and took hold of Helga's hand and fell asleep just like that. 

"Did Arnold ever come back yesterday, Gerald?" asked Phoebe walking up to Gerald. 

"No. He didn't Phoebe. But don't worry, I'm sure he's somewhere," he told her reassuringly. 

"There's only one place I haven't looked yet though. That Mighty Pete," he said. Phoebe raised an eyebrow at him.

"You don't really think that Arnold would spend the night in a tree house?" she asked in a 'yeah-right' tone. 

"Well I've checked everywhere else…so there's really nothing to lose. Come on, Phoebe."

They left for the tree house and the whole way there Phoebe couldn't help but doubt that Arnold would be there. 

They were in front of the tall tree ten minutes later. Phoebe crossed the grass and started up the ladder. Gerald followed her and wondered out loud, "Helga's been missing too. What the heck happened to her?"

Phoebe reached the landing and stood in front of the doorway with her mouth open. 

"I mean, it her fault we lost to the fifth graders. If she had of been there, Arnold wouldn't-,"

"Hush!" Phoebe said sharply but as quietly as she could. "We just found both of them," she said in a whisper.

"Phoebe, what in the world are you…" but he stopped as he stood beside Phoebe and looked in the room.

There on the floor, Arnold laid asleep and Helga on the couch. Their hands still together just as the night before and a smile was on both of their faces.

_~Sometimes when we touch_

_The honesty's too much_

_And I have to close my eyes and hide_

_I wanna hold ya till I die_

_Till we both break down and cry_

_I wanna hold ya till the fear in me subsides~_

**A/N: **so what do you think? It was MUCH longer than expected…sorry. Anyway, the next chapter to TJM won't be for a little while, too much work on this…I've totally wasted away my finger tips.


End file.
